The end of the world as we know it…

Sun 30th Oct 2011

As the big day approaches, the hysteria builds up to a crescendo. The 21st December 2012 is seen as being the next date of the ‘end of the world’, according to the ancient Mayan calendar. Yes, this time the world is really supposed to end, we are told, and apologies for all the previous false alarms.

So make sure you have paid all your bills, told your boss what you truly think of them, have made peace with all your exes, and are wearing a clean set of underwear that day. (Though if things are going to hit the fan that day, the clean underwear may soon end up being redundant).

A quick trawl through Google shows just how many sites are devoted to speculation about what is supposedly going to happen come the last day. (Please don’t waste your time doing a web search, I’ve already put my time on the line and saved you the pain, whilst waiting for my kettle to boil). Adequate to say that natural disasters on a global scale, UFOs, biological warfare, the second coming of Christ, giant meteors from outer space and something involving a far off planet called ‘Nibiru’ all feature in discussions.

Hollywood is cashing in on the idea too- churning out a disaster movie of apocalyptic proportions to be released in cinemas on the… (actually who cares).

All the above hype seems well and good except that, according to the Mayans, the 21st December is not supposed to be the end of the world. Sorry. A newspaper interview with a modern day Mayan elder in The Telegraph, reveals his irritation at curious Westerners incessantly wanting to know about the supposed ‘end of the world’. A mildly frustrated Apolinario Pixtun states ‘‘I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff.’’

He goes on to explain that December 21st next year is the end of an age (Baktun). In the Mayan calendar, each Baktun lasts around 394 years and the 14th one is due to start soon. The number 13 is a special number to the Mayans. Hence the end of the 13th age is a rather significant date.

No aliens, Armageddon or UFOs, I’m afraid, but still the end of an era, and that deserves a celebration at least.

Even so, given a brief glance at the state of the planet and the way events have unfolded over the course of the last 394 years, one could be forgiven for thinking that annihilation of life on Earth isn’t too far away. The early years of this current Baktun, saw the ruin of the many an ancient South American civilisation, as the European viewpoint of – ‘they have, I want’ went global.

An early example of what later came to be known as ‘humanitarian intervention’ saw those with the more formidable weapons seeking to impose their ideas and ‘morals’ on other societies, carrying the Cross and the gun with them. Since those early days, we have seen Empires grow, slavery flourish, men, women and children exploited in factories and mines for the glory of profit, the forging of more powerful weapons, destruction of a greater magnitude, the suppression of entire countries and ethnic groups for the sake of Empire (the role of which was later assumed by multi-national corporations), famine, global warming and more ‘humanitarian interventions’.

The latest foray into Libya, primarily for the purpose of obtaining control over the African country’s oil and water resources, was also meant to show a number of other nations what happens if you do not become part of the NATO plan. Gaddafi, love him or loath him, had his body disrespectfully exhibited in a manner described by one journalist as a display of ‘necrophilic voyeurism.’ Most of our‘free press’ (free to report utter crap, that is) went along with the ‘we good, he bad’ analysis they were fed by the Triumvirate of Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy.

Bearing all this in mind, and the worrying fact that most of the world’s more aggressive nations are also the ones possessing nuclear missiles, you could not blame someone for thinking that the end was not all that far away.

Hopefully the end is nigh: the end of an era of oppression and exploitation brought on by the ideologies of Capitalism and the free-market. The shock of the Arab Spring revolutions, the surprise occupation of Wall Street, and the unprecedented hundreds of other solidarity occupations that have taken place in around 80 countries since, show that there is a craving for a new system, a new society, a new age. The people have spontaneously risen up without warning, without leaders and are taking direct action against the 1% causing all the current mess in which our world finds itself.

Be it the start of a new Baktun, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, or the end of the world as we know it, the end of this era is something that we, the children of the revolution, should welcome. Of course, to some, the 1% perhaps, this may all be a sign of the Apocalypse, as their Day of Judgment approaches.